Are Americans ignoring a fast-approaching retirement income crisis?
Of those, 51% have reduced discretionary spending, 38% have cut essential expenses, and 25% have increased their draw on savings. The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) mechanism, which links annual benefit increases to inflation, has not kept pace with the lived experience of many retirees.
Generational divides on who bears the burden
The survey found broad anxiety across generations about who will ultimately absorb the cost of reform.
Overall, 74% of Americans believe their own generation is more likely to bear the burden of whatever changes are made. Millennials (ages 30–45) expressed the most concern, with 84% agreeing their cohort would shoulder more of the adjustment. Gen X followed at 82%, Gen Z at 79%, and Boomers+ (age 62 and older) at 60%.
That generational divergence should influence how advisors frame Social Security conversations.
Younger clients may be receptive to more conservative projections or scenarios in which benefits are reduced by a certain percentage, while clients already in or near retirement may want guidance on protecting retirement income in the face of Social Security uncertainty.
